Layout Design of a Wii™ Remote Motion Capture System: Formulation and Solution

In this paper, a method is proposed to design intelligent systems with the fundamental function of facilitating information flow from the environment and its subsequent integration. We use the Pahl and Beitz systematic design method to tease out the salient requirements for the design of a motion capture system for ergonomic worker safety and training. The current devices employed for this purpose have drawbacks in the form of a need for a controlled environment and a high cost of implementation. A systematic consideration of the requirements for the intended application and ongoing efforts in the Georgia Tech Research Institute led us to consider the platform of the Nintendo Wii™ remote. The system is designed to be inexpensive and usable in any environment with minimum intrusion to the subject. Our example system is based on the custom requirements for a manufacturing environment where workers are at a high risk for repetitive stress injuries. We select appropriate physiological measures and capture the associated data using our designed system. We utilize our adapted method by describing the conceptual design and selection of a novel approach to the mounting of the Nintendo Wii Remote™. In the embodiment design phase, we describe how we determine key parameters for the layout design of the system. The decisions made in the process are verified by the generation of a prototype system that was tested on human subjects.